Face seal assemblies are used in connection with a great variety of machinery components and machine systems with parts that rotate relative to one another. Typical example applications include track-type machines, namely, in track roller assemblies, idler assemblies, final drives, track pins, and potentially still others. Face seal assemblies are also known from the fields of pumps and compressors, and in a variety of industrial applications. Face seal assemblies commonly retain lubricants within a seal cavity and prevent intrusion of foreign debris and the like. Designs are known where lubricant is pressurized within the seal cavity, as well as applications where the seal cavity is at atmospheric pressure.
A typical face seal design can include a pair of contacting sealing rings that rotate relative to one another in face-to-face contact, with one of the sealing rings typically fixed relative to a first machine system component and the other of the sealing rings typically fixed relative to a second machine system component. A non-metallic sealing element, in some instances referred to as a “toric,” can be compressed between the sealing rings and their respective components to assist in biasing the sealing rings against one another.
One face seal assembly is known from U.S. Pat. No. 9,656,707 to Johannsen. In the design of Johannsen, it appears that dissimilar sealing rings are held in face-to-face contact with non-metallic sealing elements that are also dissimilar to provide static seals between the sealing rings and seal housing members. While Johannsen may work well for intended purposes, improvements and alternative designs in face seal technology are welcomed by the industry.